New orders for electric cars more than doubled in Europe, Volkswagen said in an earnings statement Tuesday. The company does not release order numbers for other markets. The jump in orders at Europe’s biggest carmaker comes amid concerns about slowing EV sales in the region, and as EV makers grapple with slim profits margins, squeezed by increasing competition.
The champion of German manufacturing is struggling to defend its share of the Chinese car market — the biggest in the world — where it has fallen behind Tesla and local EV producers such as BYD. Volkswagen said its plans to significantly reduce battery and material costs would enable it to be cost-competitive with Chinese rivals by 2026. That should then allow it to reduce the price of its EVs in China, where fierce competition has led to intense price wars.